Joining us this week on the ABCA Podcast is 2024 ABCA Hall of Fame class inductee Chelsea High School head coach and athletic director, Wayne Welton. Welton spent more than 30 years coaching the Bulldogs and became the Ann Arbor-area’s winningest coach with 767 wins, including a Class B state title in 1991. Welton also earned 13 Southeastern Conference titles and eight regional championships. The Chelsea native also served as the school’s athletic director for more than two decades and spent...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is 2024 ABCA Hall of Fame class inductee Georgia Tech head coach, Danny Hall. Hall has coached 36 seasons as a head coach at Kent State and Georgia Tech, closing in on 1400 wins. Hall is the Yellowjackets all-time winningest coach and the all-time winningest Div. I head coach in the state of Georgia. Prior to his time at Kent State and Georgia Tech, Hall was an assistant coach at Michigan and Miami (OH). Hall’s first year at Georgia Tech (94’), he led the...

This week on the ABCA Podcast is 2024 ABCA Hall of Fame class inductee LSU Eunice head coach and Athletic Director, Jeff Willis. Willis is entering his 22nd season as skipper of the Bengals baseball team and 20th year as Athletic Director. LSU Eunice has won seven NJCAA National Championships, tying them for most championships in a sport by one school. Willis was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2023. In going into the ABCA Hall of Fame, Willis becomes the first NJCAA coach in the...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is 2024 ABCA Hall of Fame class inductee, Brian O’Connor. O’Connor is a five-time ACC Coach of the Year and three-time National Coach of the Year. Virginia was named the ACC Program of the Decade by D1Baseball.com. O’Connor is heading into his 21st season as head coach of the Cavaliers. In O’Connor’s tenure with the Cavaliers they have one National Championship in 2015, 6 College World Series appearances, 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances and 9 NCAA regional...

This week on the ABCA Podcast we are joined by Tidewater Phillies and Grassfield High School’s Lee Banks. Banks has been a staple on the travel baseball scene for over 25 years. Banks’ initial travel squad was the Tidewater Mets then transitioned to the Tidewater Orioles. Over his career, Banks has had the opportunity to coach future big leaguers Michael Cuddyer, Jason Dubois, David Wright, BJ Upton, Justin Upton, Ryan Zimmerman and Mark Reynolds. Banks coaches travel and high school baseball...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is this year’s Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award winner Lee University head coach, Mark Brew. Following 10 seasons as an assistant coach for the Flames under ABCA Hall of Fame coach, Dave Altopp, Brew took over the Lee baseball program in 2007. Now in his 18th season as the program’s head coach, Brew has guided his teams to 671 wins. The Flames advanced to the NAIA World Series in each of Brew’s first seven seasons as head coach while reaching the 50-win mark...

This week on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA/ATEC Div. I High School Coach of the Year Lewisburg head coach, Rusty Cagle. Lewisburg High School has won their first ever 6A State Championship and second overall in school history. The Patriots finished the season with a 29-8 record. Cagle is one of the few remaining staff members from the start of Lewisburg High School and teaches social studies in addition to his role as athletic director and baseball coach. Cagle started the program 17 years ago....

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA/ATEC Div. III Coach of the Year University of Lynchburg head coach, Lucas Jones. Jones is a Lynchburg alum so this was a special season for him bringing home Lynchburg’s first National Championship. Jones took over the Hornets program in 2017 from his head coaching position at Washington and Lee. Jones also had experience as a Div. I assistant coach with stops at VCU and George Mason. The 2023 Hornets squad had 48 wins and captured their 10th ODAC title,...

We head back over to the player development side on this week’s ABCA Podcast with Cubs Minor League Hitting Coordinator, Rachel Folden. Folden was a standout player at Marshall being inducted into their Hall of Fame. After college, Folden spent time playing for the Chicago Bandits. Folden spent 1 season coaching at Valparaiso University and left coaching to focus on running her own training facility, Folden Fastpitch. Folden was hired by the Cubs in November 20’ as a minor league hitting...

Joining us on the ABCA Podcast this week is ABCA/ATEC NAIA Coach of the Year Westmont College head coach, Tyler LaTorre. LaTorre guided Westmont to a 48-9 record and their first NAIA Championship in his inaugural season as head coach. Westmont is transitioning to Div. II this season, so it was a great way to cap off their final season of NAIA baseball. LaTorre had multiple coaching stops at San Jose State, San Francisco State and Sacramento State before taking over the Westmont program....

We head back over to the high school side with ABCA All America Committee member and ABCA/ATEC Div. III Coach of the Year, Scott Steltz. Steltz has led Chatham High School to back-to-back State Championships in New York. Steltz has over 25 years of teaching, coaching and administrative experience. Chatham High School is a great example of what happens when kids play baseball together all the way through their careers, a majority of Chatham players having played Little League together. Steltz...

Next up on the ABCA podcast is ABCA/ATEC Div. I Coach of the Year, LSU head coach, Jay Johnson. Johnson led LSU to this year’s National Championship and was his third appearance in Omaha with two previous at the University of Arizona. Johnson got his coaching start at Point Loma with ABCA Hall of Famer Dr. Carroll Land after he finished playing. Johnson continued his coaching journey in Southern California heading to San Diego to be the recruiting coordinator. Johnson put together top 25...

This week on the ABCA Podcast is Mizzou assistant coach, Jabari Brown. Brown is entering his first season with the Tigers program after ABCA 4th Vice President Kerrick Jackson took over this past Summer. Brown spent the last 2 years on Tim Corbin’s staff at Vanderbilt, becoming the first recipient of the Maggie Corbin Minority Baseball Apprenticeship Scholarship. Brown coached at Eastern Kentucky University and received his Master’s degree in Sports Administration, while he was in Richmond,...

Joining us on the ABCA Podcast this week is ABCA/ATEC NJCAA Div. III Coach of the Year Rowan College head coach, Rob Valli. Valli guided Rowan to a 53-5 record and an NJCAA Championship this season. Valli has taken Rowan to 12 out of the last 13 NJCAA World Series. Valli is entering his 24th season of collegiate baseball with 20 years of experience as a head coach. Valli has over 650 wins averaging 35 wins per season. Rowan College and Coach Valli have a great track record of sending players...

This week on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA/ATEC Div. II High School Coach of the Year McPherson head coach, Heath Gerstner. McPherson High School has won back to back Kansas 4A State Championships. The Bullpups finished the season with a 21-4 record and outscored their tournament opponents 23-5. Gerstner is on the ABCA High School All America Committee and is a great example of why all high school coaches should be ABCA members. This episode is a deep dive into running a championship high school...

Joining us on the ABCA Podcast this week is ABCA/ATEC Div. II Coach of the Year Angelo State head coach, Kevin Brooks. Brooks has guided the Angelo State baseball program to six NCAA Div. II College World Series appearances and captured the program’s first National Championship this year. Brooks is the only head coach in ASU baseball history and has not had a losing season during his tenure. The Rams are the only Lone Star Conference team to make the College World Series. The Rams finished...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Kofa High School head coach, Gabe Ortiz. Ortiz was honored with the 2023 Central Valley Region Coach of the Year Award after Kofa went 11-1 in region play. Ortiz is also a USA Baseball veteran helping with the Socal/SW NTIS and helping with the USA Baseball trials in Cary, NC. Ortiz has been at the forefront of outfield development. Ortiz spoke at the 2022 ABCA Chicago convention. I would highly recommend going back and watching his talk on developing athletic...

This week on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA ATEC NJCAA Div. I Coach of the Year, Marty Smith. Smith has been the head coach at the College of Central Florida for 28 seasons with 865 career wins. The Patriots finished this season with 56 wins and winning their first World Series Championship in Grand Junction. Smith has a long history in the game and has been around some the best coaches we have had playing for Paul Mainieri at St. Thomas and coaching with Demie Mainieri at Miami Dade. Smith has a...

ABCA Podcast Part II with Nate Trosky. Trosky is one of the most forward-thinking infield coaches we have in the baseball community. Trosky has always had the ability to think outside the box and implement new ideas into his training. We had to end part I due to technical difficulties, but ended up being a huge positive because it allowed us to reset and go more in depth at a later date. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility...

Joining us on the ABCA Podcast this week is one of the best infield minds we have in the game, Nate Trosky. There isn’t a place in the world that Trosky hasn’t touched coaching infielders. Trosky has been pushing the envelope in developing infielders for over 30 years. Trosky has contributed to over 10,000 players playing in college and over 500 in professional baseball including 20 plus first round MLB selections. This is a wide-open conversation on developing infielders. This is Part I of a...

The final on location episode takes us to Cedar Rapids, IA for the Div. III National Championship. We had a chance to sit down with Johns Hopkins’ Bob Babb, Baldwin Wallace’s Brian Harrison, Endicott’s Bryan Haley, Lacrosse’s Chris Schwartz, East Texas Baptist’s Jared Hood, Miscricordia’s Pete Engbert, Salisbury’s Troy Brohawn and Lynchburg’s Lucas Jones. Congrats to Lucas Jones and the Lynchburg program for capturing their first National Championship. Once again, thanks to all the coaches...

Joining us on the ABCA Podcast this week is North Carolina A&T recruiting coordinator, Elliott McCummings. McCummings has been an assistant for the Aggies since October 2021. Besides recruiting responsibilities, McCummings coaches the outfielders and hitters. Prior to A&T, McCummings spent time coaching at Austin Peay, Radford and Louisburg College. McCummings collegiate career started at Potomac State and finished at Jacksonville State. McCummings was a NJCAA second-team All-America...

Two more weeks of on location episodes. This week we head to Enid, OK for the NJCAA Divi. II Championship. Enid is another bucket list location for a baseball fan. The NJCAA and the town of Enid provide a phenomenal student-athlete experience. These interviews were going on during the tournament, so thanks to the coaches for sitting down with me. In this episode we will hear from Frederick’s Rodney Bennett, St. John’s Rivers’ Ross Jones, Lackawanna’s Mike McCarry, South Arkansas’ Cannon...

This week’s ABCA Podcast is an on-location episode from Lewiston, ID for the NAIA World Series. It was my first time in Lewiston and was impressed with how the event was run. The ABCA and Lewiston host a youth clinic the night before the tournament starts and had 600 kids this year. Lewis Clark State has hosted the National Tournament for 21 years. In this episode we will hear from Indiana Wesleyan’s Rich Benjamin, Taylor’s Kyle Gould, Bellevue’s Duane Monlux, Georgia Gwinnett’s Jeremy...

We head over to youth baseball on this week’s ABCA Podcast. David Klein is the founder of Menlo Parks Legends Baseball and Speedball. Klein has been recognized by the Positive Coaching Alliance for his work with youth baseball. Klein founded Legends Camp in 2008. Klein is a self-described “Experience Designer & Holistic Coach”. Klein finished his college baseball career at UC-Santa Barbara and had a chance to play on the Jewish National Team for ABCA Hall of Famer, Jerry Weinstein. In...